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New Delhi: Power Minister RK Singh has asked state governments to align their carbon emission reduction targets with national targets and to constitute BEE-like energy efficiency institutions in states. Chairing a virtual meeting with senior officials from state governments and industry partners to review the current level of activities in the field of energy efficiency and clean energy transition being implemented by state agencies on Friday, Singh stressed on the need for collaborative efforts between the Central and state governments towards large-scale deployment of energy efficiency measures in potential sectors of the economy.
He emphasised on the need for active participation by all state agencies. "We are working for a new and modern India which cannot happen without modern power systems and we look forward to working with all states to achieve this," said the minister. Stressing on the need to align state emission reduction targets with that of the Centre, the minister said, "This is necessary in view of India's commitment to energy transition and to fulfill Paris Agreement Goals." Earlier in June, the Union Power Minister had interacted with concerned ministries and Departments of Central government and it was concluded that state agencies will also have to play a more active role in this endeavour.
Singh also announced the launch of trading of Energy Saving Certificates (ESCerts) under Perform, Achieve and Trade (PAT) Cycle-II. The trading of ESCerts will take place every Tuesday, starting from October 26, on designated power exchanges. "The industries which performed exceedingly well on energy savings were rewarded with ESCerts and they will be able to earn monetary benefits through sale of ESCerts to other industrial units who could not meet their targets," said an official statement on Friday.
In order to move towards a greener economy, Singh also announced proposal for National Carbon Market with an objective to involve corporate and private sectors towards energy saving and carbon emission reductions. A draft blueprint, titled "National Carbon Market for Stakeholder Consultation," was also released on this occasion. "This carbon market will pave the way for a large-scale promotion of clean energy technologies in India, leading to de-carbonisation of Indian economy through active participation by various stakeholders. Similar markets in other countries have been found to be successful in promoting energy efficiency and clean energy deployment. Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) has been mandated by the government to develop such market which would be functional in the coming years," said the statement.
Singh said that that the government is committed to sustaining the environment and India is way ahead of the targets which the country had committed to in the NDCs declared in Paris Climate Agreement. "While we are changing the nature of energy by adding more renewable energy, hence resulting in emissions reduction, we are also reducing emissions intensities of our economy by schemes for energy efficiency such as UJALA and Perform Achieve Trade which have resulted in reducing millions of tonnes of CO2 per annum," he added.
The meeting was also attended by Power Secretary Alok Kumar, Additional Power Secretary Vivek Kumar Dewangan, BEE DG Abhay Bakre and senior officials from the ministry and BEE.
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